Harness Racing New Zealand is proud to unveil Paddock to Podium, a bold new breeding incentive.
Starting on January 1, 2026 it is designed to reignite and grow our foal crop.
The scheme offers a 5% credit to the listed breeder of all prize money won by NZ-foaled 2YO – 6YO horses finishing 1st to 4th in all races in New Zealand, other than in Group and Listed races.
For Group and Listed races, $1000 will be split among the breeders of horses finishing 1st–5th.
These credits can be used directly against stallion service fees and semen transport costs, helping breeders to reinvest and grow the next generation of champions.
The total liability is estimated at $1.4m annually.
“It isn’t just about funding though,” says HRNZ Chief Executive Brad Steele “it’s about securing the sustainability of our foal crops and ensuring we continue to produce world class progeny.”
“It must be stressed than this is credit, not cash, reimbursing a breeder for stallion fees on a mare they own,” says HRNZ’s Head of Racing and Wagering Matthew Peden.
“The breeders of current racehorses will accrue the credits.”
“This is about putting breeders back at the heart of our sport. If you left mares empty last year, now is the time to come back in. The more you breed, the more credits you earn,” says Peden.
HRNZ is committed to the scheme annually for the next five years, budget permitting.
For HRNZ “the breeder” is usually the person in HRNZ’s InfoHorse when the racehorse was born. For embryo transfer foals the breeder is the owner at the time of service.
For breeding co-ownerships the credit will be allocated to co-owners according to their recorded ownership share, not to the breeding entity. For syndicates, trusts and companies the credit will be awarded to the entity.
Paddock To Podium has been designed to work in tandem with other recent initiatives:
1. The Entain 2YO Bonus where owners get $8000 and breeders $4000 for any 2YO winning his/her first race.
2. The Fillies and Mares Credit Scheme where a $750 breeding credit (not cash) is attached to the mare for every win. It is capped at $6,000 and/or 8 wins.
3. The Silk Road series, with $250,000 in extra stakes, to encourage Fillies and Mares to continue racing before heading to the broodmare barn.
4. The Harness 5000 for horses bred to stallions whose stud fee was $5000 or less during the year of conception. They will be eligible to race in 12 $60,000 races at Ashburton on December as long as they have had at least five starts during the qualifying period. The Harness 5000 will be run annually for the next five years.
“Schemes similar to this have been successful in France and Japan in maintaining breeding numbers.
“Together these initiatives are a significant investment in our future,” says Peden, “to the order of $3.4m.”
“This would be the biggest ever total investment made by HRNZ into NZ breeding,” says Steele.
FAQs :
How does it work?
Credits, rather than cash, will be earned on 2YO to 6YO horses foaled in New Zealand, for each racing season. They can be applied to stallion fees (including semen transport costs). Breeders can use credit on any mare you are breeding – not just the dam of the horse that earned it. Breeders claiming reimbursement will apply online to HRNZ to use the credit. The process will be announced.
Who will be affected?
In 2025, over 600 breeding entities were active, and this scheme will impact thousands of horses and breeders across New Zealand.
When can credits be used?
Credits must be used within the two full breeding seasons of the calendar racing year they were earned. Earnings start 1 January 2026, so the last breeding season for the 2026 racing year credits is 28/29, i.e. claims received by 31 July 2029.
What happens when breeders in a co-ownership arrangement enter into an informal arrangement from year to year on who breeds the mare?
It is common practice for groups of co-owner breeders to make different informal ownership arrangements year to year for the breeding of a mare. For example, within an ownership group, the co-owners may take turn about to bred the mare. Or, one owner may drop out leaving the breeding that year to other co-owners. The proportion of ownership in these informal breeding arrangements may not reflect the underlying ownership percentages for the mare. The Paddock To Podium credits will be paid according to the underlying ownership percentages, not the informal arrangements.
Breeders will need to change the ownership percentages at the time of breeding the mare before registering the foal if the credits are going to go to the rightful person. You can only claim credits for your share if you’re listed as an official breeder and at the HRNZ recorded percentage of ownership.
What happens if there are special circumstances?
1. Packaged Services – If an invoice from the stud is for a stallion service fee included in a package of other breeding related services the stallion service fee component must be separately identifiable.
2. “Early Bird” Payments – If a breeder pays a stud farm under an “Early Bird” payment incentive scheme or uses frozen semen a breeder cannot make a claim unless they have a paid invoice and proof of a 42 day pregnancy.
3. Sale of an in-foal mare – If a breeder sells an in-foal mare, the breeder can apply to be reimbursed for the eligible costs for the 42 day positive in-foal mare. A buyer of an in-foal mare cannot claim Paddock To Podium credits for that mare’s pregnancy as the buyer did not contract the service that resulted in the pregnancy.
4. Loss of Pregnancy – If a pregnancy is lost, and a Paddock To Podium credit has been paid no further claim can be made for that mare if she is bred again. If the mare is not bred, HRNZ reserves the right to reclaim the paid credit from the recipient.
What is the scheme going to cost?
The total liability is estimated at $1.4m, if all credits are drawn down. HRNZ will closely monitor the draw down of credits and make the appropriate reserves provision. First payments will be in the 26/27 breeding season for credits from 1 January 2026.
How long will Paddock to Podium be going for?
Annually for five years, budget permitting.
